Dogfish Head & Boston Beer Announce Merger

Boston Beer and Delaware’s Dogfish Head are merging. Brewery founders Jim Koch and Sam Calagione announced the deal today.

Delaware based Dogfish Head and Boston Beer, makers of Samuel Adams are both craft beer power players. In a press release circulated this afternoon:

Together, Boston Beer and Dogfish Head will create a powerful American-owned platform for craft beer and beyond. The new entity will possess more than half a century of Craft brewing expertise, a balanced portfolio of leading beer and “beyond beer” brands at high end price points, and industry leadership in innovation and quality. Following the transaction, the combined company will have a leading position in the high end of the U.S. beer market, bringing together Boston Beer’s craft beer portfolio and top-ranked sales team[i] with Dogfish Head’s award-winning portfolio of IPA and session sour brands.

The deal, according to Dogfish Head, is valued at $300 million dollars. Nearly 5 years ago, Dogfish Head announced a 15% stake sale to LNK private equity firm. At the time, Dogfish Head said they would be gradually buying back that stake. We are initially told that LNK exits with this merger.

Sam and Mariah Calagione have elected to take substantially all their merger consideration the form of SAM stock, making them the largest non-institutional shareholders after Boston Beer founder Jim Koch. Calagione also states that they intend to devote a percentage of stock they receive to establishing a foundation to fund location charitable programs.

For those wondering if their combined brewing volume will knock them out of the “craft brewing” definition, the brewing duo has this to say:

The combined company will maintain its status as an independent Craft brewery, as defined by the Brewers Association. It will be better positioned to compete against the global beer conglomerates within the craft beer category that are 50- and 100-times its size, as well as other craft brewers, while still representing less than 2% of beer sold in the United States.

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